Some parents wonder about their infected children playing sports and possibly infecting others in the process. Parents also wonder how concerned they should be about their children becoming infected from other players living with undiagnosed or undisclosed infections.

Playing sports can be risky in many ways and part of that risk is the potential to become infected with all sorts of germs.

Parents of children living with diagnosed infectious diseases worry that they may be responsible for infecting another child. They wonder if they should inform the coach or the school. They worry that the adults in charge don’t really follow standard precautions, thereby increasing the risk of infections. They want their kids to enjoy life and they want to do the right thing.

The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement on this dilemma in December, 1999: HIV and Other Blood-Borne Viral Pathogens in the Athletic Setting. In it, the Academy made clear, “Because of the low probability of transmission of their infection to other athletes, athletes infected with HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C should be allowed to participate in all sports.”

Participation, however, assumes all athletes and coaches will follow standard precautions to prevent and minimize exposure to bloodborne viruses.

There is no reason to exclude any student from sports if they’re infected with HIV, HBV or HCV. Nor is there a reason to disclose the infection. There are many people living with undiagnosed infections, so it is more prudent to ensure everyone is practicing standard precautions rather than simply excluding those with known infections and not properly protecting all athletes from undiagnosed infections.

Dr. Steven J. Anderson, a pediatrics professor at the University of Washington and a team doctor for many high school athletic teams, ballet companies and the U.S. Olympic Diving Team, suggests children should have access to any sport, except boxing, which the Academy opposes for all youths because of its physical risks.

Pediatricians can avoid reporting a student’s infection, the Academy noted, by making it clear on any participation forms that they support the Academy’s position that all students can participate in all sports and that pediatricians must respect an athlete’s right to confidentiality.

But strict compliance with standard precautions is critical for this open embrace of all athletes, regardless of their infectious status. Dr. Anderson notes that, as a parent, he would make sure that there is a plan in place to handle blood spills, including latex gloves, occlusive dressings, appropriate sterilizing solutions, disposal bags and even a printed protocol for coaches, athletes and officials.

Dr. Anderson does feel that students with infectious hepatitis A (spread through close physical contact with contaminated food, water or skin) or with liver or spleen enlargement should be restricted from contact or collision sports until the liver or spleen has returned to normal size, and the person is no longer contagious.

An article that ran in 2004 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine talked about possible methods of transmission in sports and reported incidents of transmission:

Bleeding or oozing injuries could, in theory, transmit the virus through the mucous membrane or injured skin of other athletes. This risk is considered extremely low. However, contact and collision sports like wrestling or boxing increase that risk. The risk goes down a bit for those playing basketball or soccer, and those playing sports with little physical contact, such as tennis or baseball, are at the lowest risk.

It has been suggested that bloodborne infections may be transmitted through sharing a water container, because bleeding around the mouth is common in contact sport. Therefore it is recommended that water containers should be available individually for each player in contact sports. Athletes should use squeeze water bottles which they do not put in their mouth.

Bloodborne infections can be transmitted through blood doping. There is also a risk from sharing needles which may be associated with drug abuse in sport. Injectable drugs used in sports include steroids, hormones, and vitamins.

Three separate cases of HIV infection associated with sharing needles among bodybuilders have been reported, two in the United States and one in France. It has also been reported that three soccer players from one amateur club were infected with HCV as a result of sharing a syringe to inject intravenous vitamin complexes. Syringes have often been shared by athletes who inject vitamins minutes before a game.

A 1993 study estimated that, in the United States, there were one million people who were either current or past users of anabolic androgenic steroids. Of these, 50% were intramuscular drug users, and about 25% had shared needles. Therefore it seems that the risk of transmission in this way may be considerable among athletes, especially bodybuilders.

So, if your family is getting involved in sports, it would be worth your time to:

The NCAA and NATA and other sports organizations carefully spell out the standards athletic organizers, including coaches, teachers and others, should follow before, during and after an athletic event.

Before the Event Begins

As part of the “pre-game” education program, NATA encourages trainers to:

Educate athletes about bloodborne pathogens.

Discuss the ethical and social issues related to bloodborne pathogens.

Review the importance of prevention programs, including standard precautions and immunizations.

Educate athletes about the signs and symptoms of hepatitis B [and hepatitis C] and HIV.

Make sure the athletes know the rules concerning standard precautions, including reporting all wounds immediately if and when they occur. This is part of the coach or trainer’s critical pre-game education.

Before the opening whistle, cover all wounds, abrasions, cuts or weeping wounds that may serve as a source of bleeding or as a port of entry for bloodborne pathogens. Remember, protection is a two-way street. No one wants germs entering or exiting these wounds or abrasions. The “cover” or bandages should be able to withstand the demands of competition.

Wear protective equipment over high-risk areas where bruising commonly occurs, such as elbows or hands.

Make sure the necessary equipment and supplies needed to comply with standard precautions are available, including latex [or other non-permeable] gloves, biohazard containers, disinfectants, bleach solutions, antiseptics, containers for soiled equipment and uniforms and sharps containers.

During the Event

Underscore the importance of early recognition and control of any cuts or bruises that bleed. Coaches and athletes alike should be prepared for appropriate cleaning and covering procedures and changing of blood-saturated clothes.

Require all athletes to report all wounds immediately. Players with active bleeding should be removed from the event as soon as practical. Return to play should be determined by appropriate staff.

All personnel involved with sports should be trained in basic first aid and infection control, including standard precautions:

They should use sterile latex [or other non-permeable] gloves for direct contact with blood or body fluids containing blood.

Gloves should be changed after treating each individual participant. After glove removal, hands should be washed.

Any surface or equipment contaminated with spilled blood should be cleaned with gloves on. The spill should be contained in as small an area as possible. After the blood is removed, the surface should be cleaned with a disinfectant or decontaminant.

Proper disposal procedures should be practiced to prevent injuries caused by needles, scalpels and other sharp devices.

Any equipment or uniforms soiled with blood should be laundered in accordance with hygienic methods.

Any life-saving equipment should be maintained in accordance with infection control guidelines.

After the Event

When the game is over, any wounds, cuts, and abrasions should be tended to.

Coaches and athletic personnel should constantly review the level of knowledge and implementation of standard precautions policies and recommend revisions and retraining where necessary.

Appropriate policy development with legal and administrative assistance of existing OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and other legal guidelines and conference or school rules and regulations should be considered on an as needed basis.

Medical Records and Confidentiality

While many experts feel an athlete should not have to “disclose” an infection to a coach, trainer or teacher, some athletes may decide personally to share information about a bloodborne viral infection.

The security, record-keeping and confidentiality requirements and concerns that relate to athletes’ medical records generally apply equally to those portions of athletes’ medical records.

Because social stigma is sometimes attached to individuals infected with HIV or viral hepatitis, athletic officials should pay particular care to the security, record-keeping and confidentiality requirements that govern the medical records for which they have a professional obligation to see, use, keep, interpret, record, update or otherwise handle.

An Infected Trainer, Teacher or Coach

A coach, teacher or trainer infected with a bloodborne pathogen should practice his or her profession while taking into account all professionally, medically and legally relevant issues raised by the infection.

Depending on individual circumstances, the infected coach, trainer or official must take reasonable steps to avoid potential and identifiable risks to his or her own health and the health of his or her team.

The American Academy of Pediatrics tackled this difficult issue in December, 1999, with a policy statement on HIV and Other Bloodborne Viral Pathogens in the Athletic Setting. In it, the Academy made clear, “Because of the low probability of transmission of their infection to other athletes, athletes infected with HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C should be allowed to participate in all sports.”

That participation, however, assumes all athletes and coaches will follow standard precautions to prevent and minimize exposure to bloodborne viruses. The Academy tackled each infectious disease individually:

HIV: The risk of HIV infection via skin or mucous membrane exposure to blood or other infectious bodily fluids during sports participation is very low . . . such transmission appears to require, in addition to a portal of entry, prolonged exposure to large quantities of blood. Transmission through intact skin has not been documented: no HIV infections occurred after 2,712 such exposures in 1 large prospective study. Transmission of HIV in sports has not been documented. One unsubstantiated report describes possible transmission during a collision between professional soccer players.

Hepatitis B: HBV [hepatitis B virus] is more easily transmitted via exposure to infected blood than is HIV . . . the risk of infection [is] greater if the blood [is] positive for HBV e antigen . . . transmission of infection by contamination of mucous membranes or broken skin with infected blood has been documented, but the magnitude of risk has not been quantified.

Although transmission of HBV is apparently rare in sports, 2 reports document such transmission. An asymptomatic high school sumo wrestler who had a chronic infection transmitted HBV to other members of his team. An epidemic of HBV infection occurred through unknown means among Swedish athletes participating in track finding (orienteering). The epidemiologists concluded that the most likely route of infection was the use of water contaminated with infected blood to clean wounds caused by branches and thorns.

An effective way of preventing HBV transmission in the athletic setting is through immunization of athletes. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that all children and adolescents be immunized. Clinicians and the staff of athletic programs should aggressively promote immunization.

Hepatitis C: Although the transmission risks of HCV infection are not completely understood, the risk of infection from percutaneous [through the skin] exposure to infected blood is estimated to be 10 times greater than that of HIV but lower than that of HBV. Transmission via contamination of mucous membranes or broken skin also probably has a risk intermediate between that for blood infected with HIV and HBV.

“There is clearly no basis for excluding any student from sports if they are infected,” said Dr. Steven J. Anderson, who was chair of the Academy’s Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness when it drafted the Academy’s policy, “and we should also try to protect the confidentiality of each athlete.”

Dr. Anderson, a pediatrics professor at the University of Washington and a team doctor for many high school athletic teams, ballet companies and the U.S. Olympic Diving Team, suggests students should have access to any sport, except boxing, which the Academy opposes for all youths because of its physical risks.

“I personally feel parents have no obligation to disclose the infectious status of their children to anyone,” said Dr. Anderson. Strict compliance with standard precautions is critical for this open-embrace of all athletes, regardless of their infectious status. Coaches and teachers must have a plan in place to handle blood spills, said Dr. Anderson, including latex [or non-permeable] gloves, occlusive dressings, appropriate sterilizing solutions, disposal bags and even a printed protocol for coaches, athletes and officials.

The following is an excerpt of a sample school policy, used by numerous public school districts and in compliance with ADA that addresses HIV infection:

“The privilege of participating in physical education classes, programs, competitive sports and recess is not conditional on a person’s HIV status. School authorities will make reasonable accommodations to allow students living with HIV infection to participate in school-sponsored physical activities.

“All employees must consistently adhere to infection control guidelines in locker rooms and all play and athletic settings. Rulebooks will reflect these guidelines. First aid kits and standard precautions equipment must be on hand at every athletic event.

“All physical education teachers and athletic program staff will complete an approved first aid and injury prevention course that includes implementation of infection control guidelines. Student orientation about safety on the playing field will include guidelines for avoiding HIV infection.”

In addition to the Academy, several sports and other health organizations have also weighed in on this issue. According to the NCAA, National Football League (NFL) and World Health Organization, athletes with HIV should be permitted to participate in all competitive sports at all levels.

These organizations all endorse immunization against hepatitis B for all athletes.

The National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) echoes Dr. Anderson’s suggestion that coaches, trainers, athletic directors, school officials and others take the lead in educating themselves, their teams, parents and their communities about the importance of effective disease prevention.

Trainers and coaches, they suggest, should provide the following information in age-appropriate terms to all participants before or during any competition :

The risk of transmission or infection during competition.

The risk of transmission or infection generally.

The availability of HIV testing (for teens and adults).

The availability of hepatitis B vaccination and testing (for parents, teens and adults).

“Athletic trainers who have educational program responsibility should extend educational efforts to include those, such as the athletes’ families and communities, who are directly or indirectly affected by the presence of bloodborne pathogens in athletic competitions,” the NATA stated in a position paper.

If you coach a little league team, parent an active athlete or are an avid sportsperson yourself, it is important to know what health risks may be present during athletic events other than shin splints and bruised egos.

Close physical contact and a heightened chance of bleeding present a chance for disease transmission unless appropriate precautions are taken.

Athletes, trainers, coaches, parents, and teachers alike must know how to prevent the transmission of bloodborne viruses such as HIV and hepatitis B or C, or even skin-to-skin infections.

These infectious diseases, and others, pose complex problems for athletes of all ages and everyone involved in sports activities. But following standard precautions to prevent bloodborne, skin-to-skin, and respiratory infections simplifies and safeguards sports events and ensures that everyone can participate safely.

Sports and Standard Precautions

Universal use of standard precautions is critical because many children, adolescents, and adults who are infected with viruses, such as HIV and hepatitis B or C, may not even know they have these viruses. Estimates vary, but some predict that more than half of those infected with these viruses do not know they’re infected.

Standard precautions protect everyone, from those whose diseases have been identified, to those that have not yet been diagnosed, to those not infected. When everyone follows standard precautions, no one who has an infection needs to be treated differently. Essentially, standard precautions are the great equalizer; when followed, they allow everyone to fully and safely participate in sporting events.

The more serious bloodborne viruses that athletes need to be aware of are: HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. There is no recommendation that people infected with these viruses not be allowed to participate in most sports.

Although HIV and hepatitis C are not vaccine-preventable, there is a safe and effective vaccine that prevents hepatitis B infection.

Skin-to-Skin Infections

According to the NCAA Injury Surveillance System, “skin infections accounted for almost one-third of the practice time loss events” in wrestling during the 2001-2002 season. As a result, the NCAA recommends that coaches, teachers and other sports officials be able to identify symptoms of skin infections. Symptoms may include:

In some cases, such as fungal infections, the skin conditions can be covered with a securely attached bandage or non-permeable patch to allow participation in the sporting event.

In addition to identification and treatment of individuals with skin infections, prevention can occur through proper routine cleaning of all equipment, including mats and shared common areas, such as locker rooms.

Respiratory Illnesses

Anyone with an infectious respiratory illness, such as flu, or whooping cough, or perhaps tuberculosis, should be prohibited from playing to prevent the spread of infections that are transmitted through respiratory routes.

Check back over the next couple of weeks for Parts 2 and 3 in this sports series. Part 2 gets into specifics on bloodborne pathogens, and Part 3 provides guidelines for sports teams to follow before, during, and after each event.

While soccer, softball and gymnastics are a joyful rite of passage for many young children, athletic events carry a risk for all children, given the increased chance for mishaps, accidents and blood spills.

For parents of children with viral infectious diseases, including hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS, these games often present a number of stressful issues.

What if my child is hurt and another child is exposed to his or her blood?

Should I tell the coach about my child’s infectious disease if it will spur him or her to practice standard (universal) precautions?

What if the coach or athletic director doesn’t know or practice standard precautions?

Should I attend every game in case there is an accident?

Should my child even be playing this sport?

The American Academy of Pediatrics tackled this difficult issue in December, 1999, with a policy statement on HIV and Other BloodBorne Viral Pathogens in the Athletic Setting. (This policy was reaffirmed in 2008.) In it, the Academy made clear, “Because of the low probability of transmission of their infection to other athletes, athletes infected with HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C should be allowed to participate in all sports.”

That participation, however, assumes all athletes and coaches will follow standard precautions to prevent and minimize exposure to bloodborne viruses.

The Academy tackled each infectious disease individually.

HIV/AIDS: The risk of HIV infection through skin or mucous membrane exposure to infected blood or other infectious bodily fluids during sports events is very low. The Academy found the risk from damaged skin or mucous membrane exposure was one in 1,007 exposures or 0.1 percent.

Hepatitis B: While hepatitis B is more easily transmitted through exposure to infected blood than HIV, the Academy found only two documented sports transmission. A high school sumo wrestler with chronic hepatitis B was found to have transmitted the infection to a team member. Wrestling is the only sport that raised concern because herpes, impetigo and measles have been transmitted through skin-to-skin contact. However, there is no risk of bloodborne pathogens being contracted through wrestling, the Academy found.

An outbreak of hepatitis B occurred within an outdoor orienteering team in Sweden. Doctors believe the team members used a common cup of warm water to clean wounds caused by branches and thorns.

Hepatitis C: The risk of transmission is greater than for HIV but less than with hepatitis B. The Academy reported no documented cases of transmission in sports.

“There is clearly no basis for excluding any student from sports if they are infected,” said Dr. Steven J. Anderson, who was chair of the Academy’s Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness when it drafted the Academy’s policy, “and we should also try to protect the confidentiality of each athlete.”

Dr. Anderson, a pediatrics professor at the University of Washington and a team doctor for many high school athletic teams, ballet companies and the U.S. Olympic Diving Team, suggests children should have access to any sport, except boxing, which the Academy opposes for all youths because of its physical risks.

Pediatricians can avoid reporting a student’s infection, the Academy noted, by making it clear on any participation forms that they support the Academy’s position that all students can participate in all sports and that pediatricians must respect an athlete’s right to confidentiality.

“I personally feel parents have no obligation to disclose the infectious status of their children to anyone,” said Dr. Anderson, “that includes their own physicians! While that may seem wrong, it is felt that if standard precautions are used for blood contact or contamination, the risk of contagion is adequately reduced.”

But strict compliance with standard precautions is critical for this open-embrace of all athletes, regardless of their infectious status. “As a parent, I would make sure that there is a plan in place to handle blood spills,” said Dr. Anderson, “including latex gloves, occlusive dressings, appropriate sterilizing solutions, disposal bags and event a printed protocol for coaches, athletes and officials.

“If standard precautions are not followed, I would recommend that the coaches or instructors are queried as to their familiarity with the precautions,” he added. “If they are not familiar with or following procedures, a higher up source needs to be consulted, such as a league office or school administrator.”

Parents should also contact the school or athletic league’s physician so he or she can also act as an advocate to ensure the coaches comply with the department or organization’s safety procedures.

But the Academy’s policy may not lessen the stress some parents feel when their very young children approach a soccer field for the first time. “When children are young, parents should educate their children about the dangers of blood contact,” said Dr. Anderson. “Despite the trauma that can accompany free play, I don’t hear of too many cases where two or more bleeding children mix their blood. I would also hope that an adult would be present when children are playing and would be consulted if there were an injury.”

Dr. Anderson feels it is not necessary to disclose a child’s infectious status to a coach. “Given the low risk of infecting other children, and the high risk of being shunned or ostracized. However, I think a responsible parent would be adamant about standard precautions being in place and followed. I supposed an astute coach might make inferences if a particular parent was a zealot about blood contamination. I would read that as a message that their child was infected and that they wanted their child to participate without creating a risk for others.”

Even when a child has an HIV infection, disclosure is not a requirement, explained Dr. Anderson, stating his personal opinion. “However, if a coach is educated about the risks, the necessary precautions and can be trusted to maintain confidentiality, disclosure may be appropriate. Unfortunately, most youth sports coaches are parent volunteers, non-professionals and are unlikely to have a long-term relationship with the athlete. In such cases, I recommend that standard precautions be followed.”

Dr. Anderson contends active contact sports, such as football, are also not off limits to athletes with infectious viral hepatitis. “However, students with infectious hepatitis A (spread through close physical contact with contaminated food, water or skin) or with liver or spleen enlargement should be restricted from contact or collision sports until the liver or spleen has returned to normal size,” he added, “and the person is no longer contagious.”

One mother whose son has hepatitis B commented, “I used to worry about my son infecting other children, but eventually I decided to make sports decisions based on what my kids risked catching from others.”

At PKIDs, we talk a lot about disease prevention and the three steps you and your family can take to stay as healthy as possible. Today I’m going to share some of our information about one of those steps, but I can’t resist mentioning the other two.

Second, check with your provider to see what vaccines you and your family need and then get vaccinated on schedule.

Third, practice standard precautions in daily living. This means that you assume that everyone’s blood and body fluids are infectious for HIV, hepatitis B or C, or other bloodborne pathogens and you act accordingly.

People of all colors, rich and poor, fat and thin, old and young are chronically infected with HCV, HBV, HIV, and other diseases. Forty to 90 percent of these folks don’t know they’re infected.

It’s impossible to identify those living with an infectious disease. The only way to try and keep yourself and your kids reasonably healthy is to learn a practical approach to standard precautions. At first, you’ll be paranoid of everyone and everything, but as the precautions become habits, they’ll be a natural part of your life—like turning the lock on a door, or stepping on the brake at a red light. They will become normal, daily precautions.

The primary thing to remember with standard precautions is to always have a barrier between your skin and mucous membrane (around the eyeballs, gums, and inside the nose), and the (potentially) infectious substance. Go to a medical supply store and buy some latex gloves. Keep them in your house and car. If you don’t happen to have gloves and you need to deal with someone’s body fluid, put sandwich baggies or trash can liners over your hands. Use a sanitary napkin or thick, rolled-up towel to collect the fluid or staunch the flow of blood.

Sometimes blood and body fluids can become airborne. If you wear glasses, keep them on. If you don’t wear glasses, put on your sunglasses to protect your eyes. If you have one, tie a scarf around your face like the masked bandits used to do.

Use a one-part bleach to ten-part water solution or another disinfectant for cleaning up substances, including your own! As soon as you have dealt with the situation, throw away the disposable protective items (your gloves, etc.) and wash your hands thoroughly.

As soon as possible, cover your hands again and remove any non-disposable items you’re wearing and wash them appropriately. Common sense will guide you in this. Just don’t go through all of the precautions only to bare-hand your dress which is covered in someone else’s body fluid.

Make sure you keep all of your cuts and abrasions covered with a waterproof bandage. Be careful with badly chapped skin. It can crack and allow fluids to enter and exit. These precautions are a two-way street. You may be one of the millions unaware that you’re living with an infectious disease.

Only you know if your child is old enough to understand these precautions. Practicing them with your kids would be useful for the whole family. If your kids are too young to understand what we’ve outlined, there are a few things you can try to help the younger members of the family participate in standard precautions.

It would help if you set aside a non-work day to role play this with your kids. Call it: Family Safety Day. This would also be a good day to practice evacuating the house in case of fire and all those other safety rules we seldom rehearse.

To help the kids understand how invisible germs can pass from one person to the next, put glitter on your child’s hands and let him/her go to the bathroom, play with family members, and pick up a cracker (without actually eating it). Go back to the beginning of the journey and walk him/her around the house, following the trail of glitter. This will help demonstrate how we can pass germs (and other things) to each other without knowing it. To press home the point, you might put glitter on your hands, too.

Have one member of the family be “bleeding” ketchup. You be a young child and run for an adult when you see the blood. Have your young child go through the same scenario several times. Then pretend there’s no adult around and show your child how to use a coat or towel as a barrier between them and the blood.

It’s important that they learn not to reach out and touch another person’s blood or body fluid. One way to help them understand (and this is kind of gross) is to ask them if they would touch someone else’s poop or nose gunk. Most kids, no matter how young, will say no. You can then explain that blood is really personal, like poop and nose gunk, and they don’t want to touch anyone else’s blood.

This approach is necessary only for a few years. Once they get to be five or six, you can start explaining more.

A few general rules for everyone to remember would be: don’t share razors, toothbrushes, manicure tools, nail clippers, hypodermic needles, cocaine straws, body piercing equipment, tattooing equipment, or anything that can puncture or is a personal grooming item.

Standard precautions as practiced by healthcare professionals cover a wide range of topics, including sharps disposal, ventilation devices (mouth pieces for resuscitation), specimen handling, and other opportunities for the spread of infection which you are unlikely to come across in daily living.

We wanted to give you some practical, basic precautions to help you live a normal, safe life. Let us know if you have any ideas for teaching little ones precautions.

You might want to check on your daycare or preschool or kindergarten’s awareness of standard precautions. Most of them will say they’ve had AIDS training. If they are receptive to suggestions, feel free to share some of these ideas with them.

We know of a preschool which keeps a chart for cleaning the bathrooms, gloves are always worn when necessary, and they really work hard to do everything right. But, several of the preschoolers never get to use soap on their hands because the sink is too wide for them to reach across to the soap dispenser, and the side access is blocked from a large storage cabinet which is pushed against the sink. The best of intentions can’t overcome reality.

Following these steps won’t guarantee you a disease-free life, but it’ll cut down on the number of infections you have.

When girls first start menstruating, one of the less-talked about side effects is the messiness. A practical mom of an HCV+ teenage girl contacted us to find out just how to deal with potential blood and body fluid exposures in the home and in public areas.

We thought the answers to her questions might serve many families, so we’re posting them here, with thanks to several infection preventionists who pitched in to provide answers!

In no particular order, here are the questions and answers.

Q: What cleaning products can we use to kill the hepatitis C virus?

Hepatitis C is not an easy bug to kill. Store-bought products (such as Lysol®, Clorox® Clean-up® Cleaner with Bleach, or Mr. Clean®) are not effective.

Bleach is questionable with regard to killing HCV. The proper dilution and the state of the HCV will vary the efficacy. If HCV is in a dried state, it is harder to kill than if it’s in a liquid state. With all blood or infected body fluids, the area needs to be physically cleaned first and then disinfected with 1:10 dilution of bleach (one part bleach, 10 parts water), although studies (see references below) are varied on efficacy.

Ethanol in studies does not show efficacy. Hand Hygiene Alcohol MSDS sheets do not list HCV as a bug that is killed by an alcohol hand rinse.

Super Sani-Cloth Wipes to be used on environment, a quaternary in a cloth/wipe form, kills HCV. Although I would like to emphasize that cleaning the environment must occur before any of these products are effective. Clorox® Germicidal Wipes, bleach wipes for the environment, kills HCV.

For any product, the label must be read. If the label states that it kills HCV, then follow the manufacturer’s guidelines with regard to kill time.

For skin that is contaminated with blood, the hands or skin can be cleaned with soap and water. Wet the skin, suds and use friction on the area with soap for 20 seconds or more, and thoroughly rinse the skin with warm water. This is not to kill the virus but an action to rinse the virus off the skin.

Answering these questions was a very useful refresher on bloodborne pathogens. Breaking the chain of infection is key in preventing transmission to others. Each link must be present and in sequential order for an infection to occur. The links are: infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit from the reservoir, mode of transmission, and portal of entry into a susceptible host.

Q: How does one handle and dispose of soiled sanitary pads, underwear, or tampon applicators? What about the mess that soiled hands leave behind?

There are a variety of products on the market for the disposal of tampons and sanitary napkins (search the internet “products for tampon/sanitary napkin disposal”). The products may have some advantages over a plastic baggie that can be difficult to seal with potentially soiled hands in a restroom stall.

There are towelettes that can kill HCV, but they are not meant for cleaning of skin, just cleaning of surfaces (it takes 3-4 minutes for HCV to be killed on a surface with these products).

Towelettes for hand sanitizing can be used to clean hands prior to leaving the stall— they are available in small packets that can be kept in a purse. Hand washing with soap and water is important before leaving the bathroom, even if towelettes are used to wipe the visible blood off of your fingers, because the towelettes won’t kill HCV, they will just wipe off some of the blood.

When an HCV+ woman is having her menstrual period, she needs to be prepared to dispose of her sanitary napkin/tampon in a way that decreases exposure of her blood to the environment.

When entering a public restroom, she needs to practice procedure that flows from dirty to clean. This means that prior to entering the restroom stall, she needs to have the items to complete this process—napkin/tampon, disposal bag, disinfectant wipes, and hand cleaning wipes.

She should then get the items out of her purse if there is a place/shelf to put them. If there is not a place, then she should at least put them at the top of her purse, so she is not digging around for them when she needs to use them. Next step is to open the items she needs, such as disposal bag.

Remember, if she is in a public restroom with the designated metal disposal box with leak proof bag she does not have to put her napkin/tampon in a separate bag unless it is very soiled and leaky (that is to reduce contamination of the metal box as it is placed in it). The rationale for this is that the special metal containers are meant for everyone’s napkin/tampon, and all items should be treated as potentially infectious, not just one individual’s napkin/tampon.

The restroom cleaning person’s job description to empty and clean that container falls under the OSHA mandate to receive education and training for bloodborne pathogens. They should know how to properly handle this by using proper personal protective equipment.

While she is removing her napkin/tampon, it might be best to use her less dominant hand so she will have her dominant hand with better control to reach for the disposal bag on top of her purse.

If she has any soiled underwear, she should replace it at this time using a separate disposal bag since she will bring it home to wash. After removing and replacing the napkin/tampon, she needs to clean the environment of any visible blood with the disinfectant wipes. Put the used disinfectant wipes in either the special metal box, if available, or the disposal bag that contains her used napkin/tampon.

If she has visible blood on her hands, she should use the hand cleaning wipes. Also, put the used hand wipes in either the special metal box, if available, or the disposal bag that contains her used napkin/tampon.

Once she leaves the stall, she needs to do hand hygiene at the sink with soap and water. Research has shown that we need to pay attention to cleaning our thumbs, between fingers, around our wrist, and our dominant hand. Also, once she is finished with water, soap, and drying her hands, she should use a paper towel to turn off the faucet and to open the bathroom door, since so many people open the door without doing hand hygiene.

As for her soiled clothes, if she is away from home she should remove them and place them in a plastic bag with the intent of removing the items as soon as she gets home. If it will be awhile before she will return home, she might want to add some water to the bag to keep it moist.

Once she is home, she should place the soiled item in a designated bucket to soak. If someone else is handling her soiled clothes, they should wear gloves. Also, remember to not hold the soiled items next to your clothes. If there is excessive blood or blood clots, they should be mechanical removed either with gloved hands or brush. Next step is to spray some stain remover on the area. OxiClean® is one product that works on red stains. Remember to follow the manufacturer’s instructions. For OxiClean®, spray it on the stain until it’s saturated, rub in, and let stand for up to 10 minutes. Do not let OxiClean® dry on fabric.

(Another infection preventionist contributed quite a bit to this answer, but due to her workplace, she asked that we not share her name.)

Q: What precautions should be taken around the house?

Standard precautions (acting under the assumption that all blood and body fluids are potentially infectious) can and should be followed at home, especially for people living with HCV, in order to prevent the transmission of the virus to others.

Casual contact, such as sharing household items (dishes, cups, and glasses) is not a risk. But blood, body fluids, and items that come in contact with blood are possibly infectious.

Cleaning up blood spills and not sharing household grooming equipment (such as razors, nail clippers, and toothbrushes) will keep people and their families safe from HCV and other infections.

LAUNDRY:

Clothes may be washed together with regular detergents

Use gloves when handling any clothes stained with blood, semen, or vaginal fluids

Wash blood-stained items in hot soapy water using one cup of bleach per load

If items cannot go into the wash, wipe them dry and take them to the dry cleaners

Wash contaminated items with hot water and detergent for at least 25 minutes. Presoaking may be required for heavily soiled clothing. The most important factor in laundering clothing contaminated is elimination of potentially infectious agents by soap and hot water.

Per VA Department of Health

PRECAUTIONS FOR BLOOD SPILL CLEAN-UP

When cleaning up blood spills, the following steps are important for preventing the spread of bloodborne infections like HCV:

Wear gloves—torn gloves will not protect the hands from coming into contact with the blood.

Carefully remove any sharp pieces, such as broken glass, and put them in a sturdy plastic container like one used for detergents.

Wipe up the blood using paper towels or disposable rags and cloths.

Disinfect the area with a solution of at 1 part bleach to 9 parts water. [note the difference in solution compared to Cathy’s in the first Q/A – perhaps take your pick?]

Wipe up the bleach solution using paper towels or disposable rags and cloths.

Dispose of the gloves, paper towel, rags and cloths into a durable bag.

Disclaimer

The information on PKIDs' Blog is for educational purposes only and should not be considered to be medical advice. It is not meant to replace the advice of the physician who cares for you or your child. All medical advice and information should be considered to be incomplete without a physical exam, which is not possible without a visit to your doctor.